City Curator
The role of the City Curator came out of the Future Business District Study which looked at what the long-term impact of the pandemic would be on city centre business districts and how we can ensure they remain desirable places to live, work, visit and do business.
The initial idea was that this role would act as a Creative Director for the city centre; commissioning events, festivals & art and supporting how we shape the public realm in it’s broadest sense.
This is a brand-new role for the City Centre and one that is, quite uniquely, supported by all five City Centre BIDs, by the City Council and indeed by wider city centre partners. The two day a week position has been funded by Colmore BID, with a small budget for creative activations funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Our first City Curator is Alex Nicholson-Evans. Alex is Founder & Director of Living For The Weekend, the company behind city-wide festivals such as Birmingham Cocktail Weekend and Birmingham Restaurant Festival.
Alex was formerly the Commercial Director at Birmingham Museums, she is a passionate non-executive director and is also a judge for awards such as the West Midlands Tourism Awards and the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Awards.
She is currently a trustee for The Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust and the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust and was previously a member of the Regional Tourism Board for the West Midlands Growth Company.
Alex is going to be sharing regular insights into her work via this page, so please do check back for the latest updates.
With thanks to The UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which funds a number of elements of the City Curator projects.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus.